An Exploratory Study of Israeli Start-Up Entrepreneur Usage of the Internet

Abstract

In recent years, the Internet has acted as animportant business tool, especially among entrepreneurs who are seekinginformation to aid in the idea collection and classification phase of theirstart-up firms.To better understand the impact of Internet usage onstart-up entrepreneurs, this research examines perceptions of the Internet'susefulness, the extent to which entrepreneurs utilize the Internet ascontrasted to other information sources, and the amount of assistance requiredby entrepreneurs to conducttheir information searches. The overwhelming majority of entrepreneurs believed that the Internet was avery important business tool. Among the findings of the study:(1) greaterInternet usage was observed among start-ups in the Internet industry, ascompared to start-ups in other industries; (2) entrepreneurs used the Internetduring all stages of their business, although usage was somewhat higher duringthe initial venture stage; (3) levels of entrepreneurial experience did notsignificantly influence usage patterns; and (4) entrepreneurs who perceivethemselves as skilled information researchers were less likely to utilizesearch mediators. The factors influencing these findings arediscussed.Some areas for future research are suggested, includingconsideration of differing characteristics among entrepreneurs in othercountries and the examination of search patterns. (AKP)